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Power Generation Planning of Galapagos' Microgrid Considering Electric Vehicles and Induction Stoves

Abstract:

Islands located far away from the mainland and remote communities depend on isolated microgrids based on diesel fuel, which results in significant environmental and cost issues. This is currently being addressed by integrating renewable energy sources (RESs). Thus, this paper discusses the generation planning problem in diesel-based island microgrids with RES, considering the electrification of transportation and cooking to reduce their environmental impact, and applied to the communities of Santa Cruz and Baltra in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. A baseline model is developed in HOMER for the existing system with diesel generation and RES, while the demand of electric vehicles and induction stoves is calculated from vehicle driving data and cooking habits in the islands, respectively. The integration of these new loads into the island microgrid is studied to determine its costs and environmental impacts, based on diesel cost sensitivity studies to account for its uncertainty. The results demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of investing in RES for Galapagos' microgrid, to electrify the local transportation and cooking system.